“Going green” has been a buzz phrase since the late 1970’s. For some, “Going green” meant the old adage “reduce, reuse, recycle”. By the turn of the 21st century, there became a growing interest in using renewable energy (i.e. Solar, wind, natural gas, etc). However, from a developer’s perspective, “going green” has become an aggressive goal to increase sustainability of their structures before, during and after construction without undermining the integrity or stability of the surrounding natural resources or ecology.

Making “Every Building Greener” is the vision and heartbeat of the Canada Green Building Council, the Canadian issuers of the internationally recognized Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification. Some of the strategies they encourage commercial developers to employ include the following:

During the design & construction phase, “Going Green” would include strategies such as
incorporating greenhouse or garden roofs to help reduce carbon emissions, and restoring or creating gardens around the parameter of the building
large windows for light emission at the design stage
recycling of building materials during the construction stage in order to minimize the exhausting of natural resources to create building materials and reduce “waste” materials going into landfills
the use of renewable energy resources such as Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) cells along the outside of the building to capture solar energy to offset the use of main stream electricity
During the interior design and construction stage, “Going Green” strategies could include
constructing the interior layout to maximize natural light emission throughout each floor
utilizing energy efficient light bulbs and light sensors to automatically dim or brighten lights based on the amount of natural light coming into the building
utilizing high thermal mass insulation in ceilings and walls to help minimize the energy used for heating and cooling
installing water-saving toilets
installing living walls or indoor garden areas to control carbon dioxide emissions and improve air quality
For Building Operations & Maintenance, “Going Green” strategies would include
keeping the building clean
ensuring comfortable temperature for tenants
encouraging the “reduce, reuse, recycle” programs by providing clearly marked containers throughout the building for waste and recyclable materials
ensuring all replacement materials are either energy efficient, or made from recycled materials
Besides being environmentally responsible, developers that have made it a priority to “go green” have seen their utility costs go down. One company estimates that its water and energy reductions alone have saved $40 million. Outside of the savings, these companies have attracted top quality tenants and employees, and thus have seen their vacancy rates decrease. If that is not an incentive enough to consider “going green”, then I don’t know what is.

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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

Like this:

DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

Like this:

DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

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When I say “storage”, a couple thoughts may come to your mind— “the cloud”, which more and more companies are using to store soft copies of files and documentation, or a storage closet where items like unused furniture, filing cabinets, hard copy files and other hard assets are kept.

But what about third-party storage facilities? Should companies take advantage of such services or just store inactive items somewhere in their office space?

Here are some thoughts to take into consideration:

Cost – Consider your office space lease rate. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), the average office space lease rate in downtown Toronto in the last quarter of 2016 was $12.86/per square foot net1. If the storage space required for your inactive hard assets is roughly 50 square feet, then $643 of your total monthly lease would be paid towards storing hard assets not currently in use in your office space. A third-party storage facility may charge $150 to $200 per month for the same size storage space. That alone would be a monthly savings of over $400 in favour of using a third-party storage facility.

Space usage – Would storing your inactive hard assets be an effective use of your office space? With the trend towards companies occupying smaller office spaces, the need to utilize every valuable square foot of office space for business-related activities would likely be a more business savvy choice than trying to squeeze those items in a corner of your office space.

Security – Your office space landlord may provide the security services needed to protect all of your valuable assets but the same would be true for a third-party storage facility. Security cameras and special security locks are just a couple of features that third-party storage facilities offer their clientele.

Flexibility – Ahh! There is that key word again. Unless you foresee re-purposing your inactive hard assets into your office space design in the immediate future, keep in mind that third-party storage facilities do offer flexibility in terms of short-term and long-term storage leases, location, and sizes of storage spaces, while giving you the flexibility you need to maximize the use of your office space.

Accessibility – Whether accessibility means “proximity”, “information about” or just “ease of extracting” those inactive hard assets when needed, third-party storage facilities offer it all. Some storage facilities may even offer or arrange a delivery service as an added convenience to their clientele.

These are just a few advantages. If you are considering to use a third party storage facility for your inactive hard assets, contact us for more information. We provide secure, temperature controlled, flexible solutions for all your storage needs.

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DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.

DJ Mcgauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.